PRESIDENT MAY BE INVITED TO REVIEW GREAT NATIONAL PARADE OF THE KKK
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On June 24, 1925, The Evening Star reports that President Calvin Coolidge will most likely "be invited to review the great national parade of the Ku Klux Klan" to be held in the Nation's Capital on August 8, 1925*. This comes from "a high official" of the KKK.
The Star says Klan officials expect between 150,000 & 200,000 members of their organization to attend. As is true for other groups, KKK members will be offered "special rates" by railroad companies.
While most Klansmen are slated to walk in the parade, some will be mounted on horses which will be masked. The Star says their riders will not wear masks.
JFK+50 NOTE
President Coolidge would refuse to review the KKK parade & in fact did not do so, but he received criticism for not publicly condemning the Klan. Also, he did not attempt to stop the parade because he felt he did not have the authority to do so.
On the other hand, Mr. Coolidge did express the view that while all Americans came to this land in different ways, "we are all now in the same boat."
*Approximately 30,000 Klansmen from all corners of the Nation came to Washington, D.C. on August 8, 1925 to march in "one of the greatest demonstrations the city has ever seen."
They marched, mostly un-masked, 22 abreast & 14 rows deep along Pennsylvania Ave. from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. It has also been characterized as "the greatest un-masked demonstration ever staged by the secret order."
SOURCES
"Klan May Invite Coolidge Review," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., June 24, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"The day 30,000 White supremacists in KKK robes marched on the Nation's Capital," by Terence McArdle, August 11, 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/
"When the Klan Descended on Washington," by Gonzalo Pacanins, December 11, 2019, Boundary Stones, WETA, www.boundarystones.wtea.org/
